Rise of the Kyuusais 2: Emergence
by Tsuiyo Theta
Summary: Sequel to Rise of the Kyuusais. As Sonic, Shadow, Silver, and Zenith band together, they begin to realize that their rivals may not be the main villains here... Even though this story has long since been discontinued, I feel like I have to finish it.
1. The Plan, The Sentry, and the Headache

Chapter 1: The Plan, the Sentry, and the Headache

Chapter 1: The Plan, the Sentry, and the Headache

Professor Beta Dhartma came waltzing into the bridge with a silver briefcase. Cyeta Zhartma was reaching the end of her patience. "What are you humming about?" she asked impatiently.

Beta continued humming and sat down in his chair.

"What are you so happy about?" she asked again.

Beta paid her no mind.

"If you don't tell me what's going on right now-"

Cyeta closed her mouth. Beta held the silver briefcase in front of her. He flipped open the case, showcasing five brilliantly cut and radiant gems.

Cyeta was star struck. "How did you…?"

"My team had acquired them," Beta answered, not even bothering to hide his bragging attitude. "There're only two that are needed, and I know who has them. When those furries (**A/N: **For our purposes, humans calling sapients furries is equivalent to a Caucasian calling an African American a "ngr. Instant fight.) arrive, we'll be ready."

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Sonic stepped smartly out of the way of the large hammer aimed directly at them. "They were never this tough to beat!" the cobalt blue hedgehog commented.

Shadow hurled Chaos spears at the robot, to which it easily dodged. "Whoever is behind this," Shadow said. "He's smarter than the doctor."

Zenith nodded in agreement, dodged the two-thousand pound hammer, and loosed a bolt of electricity all in the same movement. "He obviously doesn't waste his money on stupid robots. He goes straight for the smartest and most powerful ones," Zenith said. "Almost like-"

The massive robot turned its attention to Silver, who was trying to wrench the hammer from its grasp. "Do you think that you could help me with this, Zenith!?" Silver interrupted.

"Right!" Zenith agreed. He loosed two large bolts of electricity at the robots, sending crackles of energy through the gargantuan. The robot's grip loosed and Silver took his chance, relieving the robot of the hammer and tossing down to the abyss below.

"We got him now!" Sonic called. He jumped into the air and homing attacked on the robot's head, destroying him.

"That was only one robot," Shadow said. "Imagine what the others must be like?"

"I'm not waiting around to find out!" Silver said. "We better keep moving!"

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Mephiles had a massive headache and he didn't understand why. He didn't even know if or how gods could get headaches. For some reason, he was patrolling the bridge of Professor's flagship. He didn't know why, he just knew he had to. Surely he was more powerful than the puny fifteen year old. Of course, he could easily overtake them and his mate. But for whatever reason, he gave him the two Chaos Emeralds he had found under his own strength. How foolish of him! His headache got worse and he placed his hand on his forehead. An itch on his neck was irritating him. He scratched it, hoping for it to leave him alone. He found that the itch was some sort of protrusion on his crystalline skin. It wasn't part of him, he figured. He rubbed it vigorously. It came off and fell into his hand. His headache immediately subsided, much to his relief. He inspected the item in his hand. Anger took the place of his now-gone headache. The sniveling little whelp put some sort of mind control device on him! He crushed it and allowed the pieces to fall. If there was one thing that the professor should have known, you should never anger a god.


	2. Prisoners of The Mind

Iota was running expeditiously through a wide expanse of desert

Iota was running expeditiously through a wide expanse of desert. She didn't know how or why it started but it did and that was all that mattered. She heard Zenith calling for help and was running towards his voice.

"_Help! Somebody!_"

It seemed strange that Zenith would be calling for help; his pride was usually too prominent to ask for help. But if he was asking for help, it was more than likely something very serious, life threatening even. She called back to him. "Zenith! Don't worry, I'm coming!"

"_Iota!? Please hurry!!_"

Even stranger was the fact that no matter how fast she ran Zenith's voice never got any closer. Iota had expert hearing, with her eyesight being gone. Zenith's voice should have been getting closer.

"_There's no time left! Hurry up, please!!_"

There was a whine in the sapphire hedgehog's voice. Iota hated being so slow compared to Zenith. If only she was faster.

_"Ahhhh!! Get off of me!! Noooooooo…_"

Iota stopped running gradually. She dropped to her knees and cried hot tears. Zenith was…gone. And she hadn't the power to save him.

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Cyeta, like her professed boyfriend, had a bit of a sadistic nature within her. She laughed at Iota's tears coursing down her face. Iota, Amy, Rouge, and Blaze were all hooked up to cliché mind control chairs, strapped in the chairs in several places. She was torturing her arch-nemesis with images of her precious boyfriend perishing. Iota's worse fear, probably. She was doing similar things to the other three, although Rouge's nightmare was the most difficult to produce.

"Cyeta! Report to the bridge, now!"

Beta's harsh, commando voice startled Cyeta from her favorite activity. "I'm not your servant!" Cyeta yelled back.

"Hurry up!" Beta yelled again, ignoring her even though he could very clearly hear her.

Cyeta mumbled something and left the room, the machine still running. When she closed the door, Amy's eye popped open.

Cyeta entered impatiently. "What is it?"

"Its Mephiles!" Beta answered. "I can't find his signal!"

Cyeta feigned shock. "What?? The all-powerful Professor Beta Dhartma has failed? My, my what a shock!"

Beta cast her a withering glance. "All these gods are the same. We'll have to do without him. He better stay out of my way and get his crystalline ass back into that damn scepter of his." Beta expected Cyeta to make some crude remark. When she didn't he turned his chair around and found her laying half asphyxiated on the floor. Beta jumped down from his chair and checked her pulse. She was still breathing, and her heart rate was still steady. Beta was about to tend to her injuries when he felt a cold, sharp hand on his shoulder.

"Ah, now Beta," the crystalline god said mockingly and deadly at the same time. "You don't really think that do you?"


	3. Destruction of Forces

Chapter 3: Destruction of Forces

"I can see that the professor isn't all that smarter than the doctor," Shadow said. "Another self-destruct switch."

"Just like last time," Sonic added. He gestured elaborately to the group. "Shall we?"

Silver and Zenith nodded. The four hedgehogs jumped onto the switch. The switch slid down. Seconds later, the section of the ship that they were in detonated, sending the group hurtiling through the air.

"He underestimated us," Shadow bragged. "Thinking that would do the job."

"Destroying his ship just to destroy us?" Silver asked no one in particular. "He must really hate us."

"Never really thought it would self-destruct," Sonic commented.

"Beta has money to burn," Zenith said.

The four landed on separate rails. Curving upwards, Shadow commented, "This weather speaks of negative happenings."

Silver looked confused. "What?"

"Bad omen," Zenith explained. "Which don't exist."

"You're thinking to much, Shadow," Sonic teased. "As usual."

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Professor Beta flew across the bridge, hitting the opposite wall with a thud as Mephiles the Dark threw him. Beta stood painfully upwards. Immediately, Mephiles rushed over to him and grabbed him by his right wrist.

"If you value the life of you and your _girlfriend_," Mephiles threatened with disgust on the word "girlfriend". "You will hand over the Chaos Emeralds."

Beta reached over and pressed a button on his control panel, never taking his eyes off of Mephiles. A hatch opened next to Beta, hosting a brilliantly cut red emerald. Beta removed the emerald and handed it to Mephiles. He tossed Beta aside and jumped rose to the air to caught the emerald. His eyes shined with delight. "Once I have the other six, not only will I be able to fuse with Iblis, but I'll be able to increase our power-". Mephiles took another look at the emerald. His delight turned to rage. "Wait! This emerald's fa-". His rant ceased abruptly as he fell to floor.

Professor Beta Dhartma tossed his weapon aside and walked casually over to the fallen semi-god. He bent down on one knee. "Now, Mephilestopheles the Dark," Beta addressed him using his full name. "Are you ready to serve?"

Mephiles lifted his head. "Always, sire."

"Good, good," Beta said. "Return to your patrol."

Mephiles bowed and exited the bridge. Beta rubbed his wrist. "Darn god messed up my watch," he said snidely. "Probably gave me an infection." An alarm sounded. Beta rushed to his computer and grinned. "So, the 'saviors' made it, did they?" He removed a microphone from the panel. "Team Kira, report to the battle field. The saviors have arrived."

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Amy undid Rouge's helmet. Rouge fell out of her chair. Amy caught her before she hit the ground. "Uhh...," the bat thief groaned. "Where are we?"

Iota spoke up. "On a ship crafted by Professor Beta Dhartma."

"Who?" Blaze asked.

"Professor Beta Hycinth Dhartma, the fifteen year old supergenius. He has one hundred more IQ points than your Dr. Robotnik."

Rouge rose to her feet. "Anyway, we have to find a way out of here."

"None of you are going anywhere."

All of the sapients' heads turned in the direction of the voice. Only a door was seen. Amy looked upwards. "Look! On the frame!"

Cyeta Zhartma dropped from the ceiling. "And just where do you think _you're _going?" She asked rhetorically looking at Iota.

"I'll handle Cyeta," Iota whispered to the group. "You find an escape route. We'll meet up later."

The anthropomorphs headed for the door. Cyeta cared only about Iota. "So its just you and me."

Iota nodded.

Cyeta grabbed a sword from a nearby wall. "I've been waiting for nothing else for long time!"

Iota smirked. "You need a hobby." Her hands glowed with energy.

Cyeta charged at Iota. Iota released a blast of energy. Then...


	4. Kira Kyuusaisha!

Chapter 4: _Kira Kyuusaisha!_

The saviors arrived at a large circular platform. "Where to now?" Sonic asked Zenith.

"Straight ahead, I believe," Zenith said.

"Enemies are coming," Shadow said, pointing upwards. "Look!"

Sure enough Neo Metal Sonic, Mephiles the Dark, Epsilon Theta, and Black Doom were approaching.

"Figures," Silver said. "This guy sends his lackeys in instead of fighting us himself."

Team Kira landed in front of them, readying for battle.

The saviors nodded to each other and went to their respective enemies.

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"We've been walking down this hallway for thirty minutes," Blaze complained. "Are you sure we are going the right way?"

Rouge turned around. "Me, master jewel thief. You, princess. Do the math and shut up."

Blaze was about to respond, but Amy shook her head no. There was no winning an argument against Rouge the Bat.

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Professor Beta was watching with amusement the battle between villains and "heroes". This time he had a foolproof plan, one that even Cyeta did not know about. Cyeta! Where was she? He looked around the room. She was nowhere to be found. He shouldn't worry himself about her, though. She was a doctor after all. If there was any problem she'd be able to handle it.

A warning triangle flashed on the screen. Beta looked to see three of his prisoners escaping. Beta chuckled. "Now's my chance to test my sentries." He pressed a button on his panel and spoke. "Sentries, report to south hallway. Three sapients escaping. Names: Amy Rose, Blaze the Cat, and Rouge the Bat..."


	5. Warning: Sentrix Testing in Session

Chapter 5: Warning: Sentrix Testing In Session

Zenith dodged a jab from the Dark Master's dark dagger, and fired a bolt at the same time. "I know brothers fight, but come on!"

"What-uh!-confuses me-guh!-," Shadow said between blows. "is why-whoa!-our enemies-yah!-are working toge-kuh!-ther!"

"Mind control," Silver said off-handedly, right after being backhanded by the crystalline semi-god.

"That makes sense," Sonic said, dodging several sharp talons from Neo Metal Sonic.

Zenith knew what to do; he needed no second bidding. He rose to the air and produced a four-pronged bolt of electricity. The lighting hit their enemies dead-on, causing their adversaries to recoil and fall over.

"Now's your chance!" Zenith called to his friends.

Neo Metal Sonic's display had been put out of commission by Zenith's bolt, rendering him useless to stand against Sonic's spin dash. Black Doom had been dizzied by blast, which took away his reaction time; a Chaos Spear hit him, courtesy of his biological son. Mephiles had no idea where he was and, therefore did not see Silver behind him, preparing to swing him up, around and down to the hard metal floor. Epsilon did not even have a chance to react, as Zenith came down quickly on his head.

"No time to waste everyone!" Shadow said. "Gather around!" Everyone stood close to Shadow. "Chaos Control!" They vanished in a flash of green light.

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Rouge stopped in her tracks. Her ears flickered. "Did you hear that?"

Blaze turned around. "Hear what?"

"Something like metal tapping on metal," Rouge answered.

"I didn't hear it," Amy responded. A moment to soon, a thump crossed Amy's ears. Rouge dove onto her, followed by several gunshots.

"Move! Guards!" Blaze yelled urgently.

The Sentrix, as they were called, were the most elite androids the group had ever seen. Unlike Eggman's E-series or even G.U.N's mech's, these robots carried the most advanced A.I system of their time. Able to perform coherent thought and communicate with fellow Sentrix, these androids posed a formidable threat. Their color scheme was of silver, gray, and purple. Another fact that they noticed was that the robots _carried _their weaponry-it wasn't built in.

"Resistance will lead to certain death," a Sentrix said in a deep, monotone voice. As he spoke, more Sentrixes appeared around them, carrying machine guns, swords, shuriken, and other weapons and artillery. The Sentrix continued. "If you surrender now, your lives will be spared. If you resist-". Several guns around them cocked and pointed in their direction, including his. "-You will die."

A pyrokinetic blast from Blaze provided their answer. The android leaned to the right to avoid it. The Sentrix's gun spoke for him as well. Amy swung her hammer at him. A metallic hand from behind grabbed the handle. Amy was pulled around and looked straight into the cold eyes of a Sentrix, completely unarmed. The hammer was snatched from her hands and snapped it in two. The Sentrix punched Amy hard, enough to send her across the room. "Amy Rose incapacitated," the android said. "Orders are to capture and restrain."


	6. Dead Data

Chapter 6: Dead Data

"Alright," Zenith said. "We're in."

"Strange," Sonic began. "This doesn't look like Eggman's base at all."

"Quiet," Shadow urged. "Someone's coming."

Both Zenith and Silver rose to the air, each picking up Sonic and Shadow respectively. The robot patrolled the hallway. Incidentally, the android looked up and saw the hedgehogs. It immediately sounded an alarm. "Warning! War-!" Zenith had zipped down to the robot and ended his commission with an electrical pulse to its neck. The robot fell over, circuits fried.

Sonic landed, having been held up by Silver. "That is not one of Eggman's robots."

Zenith said nothing.

Shadow sensed something. "You know something about this, don't you?"

"He's…supposed to be dead…" Zenith said glumly.

"Who?" Silver asked. "Who's supposed to be dead?"

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"Where the hell is Cyeta!?" Beta yelled angrily. "Sentrix, have you found anything on her?"

"Negative," the Sentrix replied. "Still searching."

"Have you found anything else?"

"Sonic the Hedgehog, Shadow the Hedgehog, Silver the Hedgehog, and Zenith Theta the Hedgehog have entered."

"What!? What happened to Team Kira!?"

"Mind control devices were destroyed. Team Kira incapacitated. Estimated time of recovery: two minutes, forty-seven seconds, and twenty-three milliseconds."

"Emotional state?" Beta asked.

"This unit believes the correct terminology is 'pissed-off'," the android stated matter-of-factly.

Beta became slightly frightened. "Set two-hundred Sentrix to protect all the entrances to the main ship. Ignore others. Send fifty scouts to search for Cyeta Zhartma. The rest are to take care of Team Kyuusai and their girlfriends. Initiate now."

"Orders taken. Preparing now."

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Cyeta swung her sword around skillfully, trying to decapitate her blind opponent. Iota dodged her sword skillfully, attempting to avoid decapitation from her sighted opponent, which as one might guess, was extremely difficult. She needed to end this-fast.

"Your head would make a nice centerpiece," Cyeta taunted.

"And your face would make a nice tile," Iota replied. A blast of ernegio (ER nee oh) sent Cyeta falling forwards, flat on her face. Iota took the opportunity to relieve Cyeta of her sword. She tossed it across the room, unconsciously embedding it into the wall. Cyeta quickly rose and ran straight for the sword, ignoring one of the most basic rules of battle.

Never turn your back on an enemy.

Iota shot Cyeta in her back with her ernegio, sending the silver-haired female flying across the room, into the embedded sword, knocking the wind out of her and rendering her unconscious.


	7. Mayhem Gemstones

Chapter 7: Mayhem Gemstones

"So, let me get this straight," Shadow said. "This Professor Beta Dhartma…,"

"…is a fifteen year old super genius…," Sonic continued.

"…with an I.Q of 400," Silver said.

"You've fought him several times before…"

"…and defeated him before for good…"

"…when he fell into a pool of Lava…"

"…and now he's returned," Zenith finished, nodding in confirmation. "I don't know how he did it, but someway he survived that fall into the lava." He shook his head. "I just don't know how."

"However that happened, he must be defeated," Shadow said. "And that is not going to happen with us just standing here."

"Right," Silver said. "We have a mission to complete."

"And I have a plan," Zenith said. He motioned forward with his arm. "Follow me."

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Beta eyed his mainframe computer intently, waiting for any transmission from his Sentrix. His eyes began drooping and his head slipped from his hand. His head hit the keyboard with several clacks and a thud. An urgent message flashed across the screen. Beta sat up from the alarm.

"Huh? What? What's going on?" Beta asked.

"Urgent! Urgent! Doctor Cyeta Zhartma has been located! Your presence is needed immediately!"

Beta was fully alert. "What!? What's going on!?"

"There is no time for explanations. Sending coordinates now."

Beta read glanced at the coordinates and exited the bridge, running down the hall. So fast was he running, he didn't notice the snickering sapphire blue hedgehog.

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"How did you do that?" Sonic asked Zenith, the group now inside the bridge.

Zenith tapped his lightning shaped spines. "I used my electrikinesis powers to mimic the signals sent by the Sentrix."

"Is that even a real word?" Sonic asked.

"So now we're in," Shadow said, nearly cutting off Sonic. "What are we looking for?"

"The other five Chaos Emeralds," Zenith answered. "I know the professor has them."

The group looked around the bridge, searching for any sign of the infinitely powerful Chaos Emeralds. Silver looked frustrated. "This place is huge! We'll never find them." He pointed at Zenith. "And how do you know that he didn't take the emeralds with him?"

"I know how much he loves Cyeta," Zenith answered, slightly peeved in Silver's lack of confidence in his ability. "The Chaos Emeralds wouldn't matter if he believes Cyeta was injured."

Shadow was snickering.

"What's so funny?" Silver asked.

Shadow didn't answer, but continued giggling.

Silver turned to Sonic. "You know him better than anyone else here. What's wrong with him?"

Sonic shrugged. "He's a weirdo. I still haven't figured him out yet."

Shadow kept giggling in a high-pitched voice, pointing at a briefcase. Zenith was becoming worried about Shadow, but turned his attention to the case. Zenith picked up and opened the case, and began to understand why Shadow was giggling.

Zenith held up the opened case. "Look! The other five emeralds!"

A red light began flashing. "Danger! Danger! The five Chaos Emeralds have been stolen. Assigned Sentrix lock on to their signatures and recover the emeralds immediately!"

Shadow quickly stopped laughing and regained his composure. "Zenith, you imbecile."

"There's no time for that now! We have to hurry!" Sonic said.

"Quick, use Chaos Control!" Silver suggested.

Shadow took out his red emerald. "Chaos Control!" They vanished.

They reappeared on the roof of the bridge. Instead, about one hundred Sentrix were surrounding them, all with guns pointing directly at them.

"Shadow, you imbecile," Zenith got back at Shadow for his previous comment.

Shadow humphed. "Make sure they don't get the emeralds."

With that, Team Kyuusai sprung into action.


	8. Nucleus Eliminated

Chapter 8: Nucleus Eliminated

Iota Kappa was carrying a great burden. She was dragging the dead weight known as Cyeta Zhartma, trying to find a place to store the unconscious body. Doing this wasn't easy as Cyeta wasn't exactly "lightweight". And, being blind, she had to feel the walls for a door as well. This was becoming more trouble than necessary.

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As one may have already guessed, Beta's airship and fleet were considerably large. Even large enough for their owner to become lost.

Beta had heard the alarm and was trying to find his way back to the bridge. 'Zenith must've tricked me somehow,' Beta mused to himself. 'Crafty little furry.' Beta had not been watching where he was going, and had hit his toe on an exposed pipe. "OW!! DAMMIT!!"

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Iota had heard Beta's profaned language and did not feel like a confrontation. She decided to avoid him.

"Ohhh…"

Iota's ears pricked. Cyeta was awakening! Iota was trying to figure out what to do. She got an idea. Iota twisted around and slammed Cyeta's head into the nearby metal wall, quickly silencing her. She dropped her and ran.

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Rouge, Blaze, and Amy stood around the dismantled Sentrixes, panting hard. It had been a long and drawn out battle.

"I'm glad that's over," Amy commented.

"Glad what's over?" Rouge asked.

Amy looked at her dumbly. "This fight! Where have you been?"

"This is far from over," Blaze said. "We still have to find Iota and our boyfriends." Rouge and Amy stared at her. "Seriously, everyone has to know by now!"

Rouge and Amy shrugged in agreement.

An announcement came over the intercom. "Deploy more Sentrixes to the battle on the bridge. Immobilize Team Kyuusai!"

"Team Kyuusai?..." Rouge said.

"That sounds like…," Blaze said.

"Our boyfriends!" Amy realized. "C'mon, we have to get the bridge!"

"Wait, what about Iota?" Rouge asked.

"She'll find her way," Blaze said. Then she added, with a smile. "She _is _a cat, after all."

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The Sentrix had surrounded Team Kyuusai, all with cocked guns pointed directly at them. A Sentrix stepped out from the group. "Give us the Chaos Emeralds," he addressed Zenith. "Or face certain death."

"Not a chance," Zenith said simply. He took out a chaos emerald behind his back. Shadow, Silver, and Sonic did the same.

"By order of Professor Beta, hand over th-!" The Sentrix was cut off.

The four hedgehogs raised the emeralds in the air. "CHAOS BLAST!!"

Time actually slowed. Chaos Blast induced by Shadow would have been enough, but one created by all four hedgehogs nearly blew half of the master ship away. The Sentrix surrounding them were eliminated and the bridge was destroyed. Team Kyuusai had jumped up to another part of the ship, not to far away from the bridge.

Team Kyuusai had fallen silent; all that could be heard was their ragged breathing. A shrill call broke the silence.

"SONIKUU!!"

Sonic turned his head sharply. "Huh? Amy!?"

It was indeed the obsessive, pink hedgehog.

"Shadow!"

Shadow turned his head sharply. "What? Rouge!?"

It was indeed the vain, white bat.

"Silver!"

Silver turned his head sharply. "Whuh? Blaze!?"

It was indeed the overbearing, light-purple cat.

As Zenith was watching the couples hugging, he couldn't help but think that there was something missing here…

"Where's Iota?" the overprotective, sapphire hedgehog asked.

"She stayed behind to fight Cyeta," Blaze answered.

"We came here as soon as we heard the announcement," Amy answered. She turned to Sonic, "Where are the Sentrixes anyway?"

"We Chaos Blasted them away," Sonic replied, then added. "Along with the bridge."

"We also managed to recover the Chaos Emeralds," Silver said. "All seven." He turned to where he believed Zenith was standing. "Where's the bri-?" His eyes widened. The only thing there was the briefcase containing the two remaining emeralds. "He's gone!" Everyone except Shadow turned to Zenith's previous position.

"What? Where did he go?" Sonic asked.

"After Iota, you idiot," Shadow insulted.

Silver spoke up. "Wait, there's a note in here!"

"How'd he have time to write a note?" Sonic asked, confused.

Silver ignored the question. "It says,

Everyone,

I went after Iota. Do not come after me.

The entire fleet is about to self-destruct.

Shadow, Sonic, and Silver get the girls to safety.

Iota and I will join you shortly in Station Square.

How do I know the fleet is about to self-destruct?

It's the kind of thing the professor would do.

~Zenith Theta"

Sonic burst out laughing. "Ha ha haaaaa! He writes like a girl! Ha ha-ow!"

Amy had hit him over the head with her hammer. "Sonic, be nice."

"Sonic, be nice," Sonic repeated in a high-pitched, annoying voice.

Amy raised her hammer threateningly. "What was that!?"

Sonic ducked. "Nothing."

"**Attention! Attention! Fleet to Self-Destruct in t-minus 5:00…4:59…4:58…**"

"So fleet is about to detonate…" Shadow mused, slightly impressed by Zenith's ability to "predict the future".

"Quick, lets use Chaos Control and get out of here!" Silver suggested.

Shadow sighed, almost tired of always being the one that warped everyone to new positions, even though the other two male hedgehogs present were perfectly capable of doing so themselves. "Chaos Control!"


	9. Final Destruction

Chapter 9: Final Destruction

"**4:47…4:46…**"

Zenith rushed through the hallways of the main ship, knowing the fleet was about to self-destruct, down one hallway and up the next.

"Hurry! Do not let her escape!"

Zenith activated his Grav Shoes to stop and pressed himself against the wall. He turned his head slightly and looked around the corner of the wall. He caught a brief glimpse of cyan running in front of several armed Sentrixes.

That was all the information he needed. He went after the Sentrix.

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"**4:13…4:12…**"

"So now what, you idiotic stone?" Neo Metal Sonic insulted Mephiles the Dark. "The army is about to detonate and we're lost, thanks to you!"

"We are not lost," Mephiles said confidently.

"This is the last time I listen to a talking rock semi-god," Epsilon Theta made a mental note.

Black Doom raised his three-fingered hand. "Silence, all of you. We should use Chaos Control to get out of here first."

Neo Metal turned slowly to face the priest-like warlord. "Excellent idea! Lets just use Chaos Control! But wait, we need a Chaos Emerald to do that don't we!?" His metallic voice oozed sarcasm.

Mephiles took this chance to step in. "Who says we need a Chaos Emerald? We'll search for that punk kid another day."

Epsilon imitated crushing Beta's skull. "Yeah. Hmm, but what about Team Kyuusai? They will surely get in our way."

"They will think that we are dead, along with the kid," Mephiles explained. "Now let's regroup and plan." A blue sphere of electricity like enveloped them as they vanished.

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**"…3:38…3:37…"**

Iota was running for her life.

Whether or not this was "out of character" for her or not was not the pr_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________her. She occasionally threw bolts of Ernegio to take out of few of them, but was barely a dent in the massive brigade.

One problem with running at excessive speeds in heels without vision is obvious.

_**DANG.**_

__Iota hit the metal wall and collapsed to the ground. One may find it beneficial to note the hardness of the metal the Professor Beta's ship was composed of. Moments before she retreated into unconsciousness, she sensed high amounts of electricity, but was too dizzy to note the obvious presence.

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**"…1:09…1:08…"**

It had taken a long time to dismantle all of those Sentrixes, the countdown was nearing its end, he had to backtrack through all of these hallways, and what's more Iota had run into a wall and knocked herself unconscious, forcing him to carry her on his shoulders. Great. Just great. He needed to find his way off the ship before it detonated.

Straight.

Left.

Left.

Right.

Dead end. Back.

Right.

Straight.

Dead end. Back.

This was becoming needlessly repetitive and tedious.

**"…0:23…0:22…"**

He was going to have to improvise a way out of here. And fast.

Iota groaned. "Ohhh. Zenith?"

Zenith breathed a sigh of relief, both from her being okay and from not having to carry her anymore. He placed her down on the ground and hugged her. "Thank goodness!"

"Umm, Zenith? Isn't this ship about to explode?"

"**…0:15…0:14…"**

Zenith immediately remembered the problem at hand and pushed her off of her. "There's no time for that now! The ship's about to explode!"

"How do you suggest we get out of here?" Iota asked, used to Zenith's shifting the blame.

"Easy, just blast a hole through the darn thing."

"Isn't the pressure going to suck us out?"

"Just hang on tight!"

Iota hugged Zenith as he shot a concentrated bolt of electricity at the floor, ripping a hole in the ground that allowed the outside air _in_ and the two sapients next to it _out_.

**"…0:03…0:02…0:01…"**

_**THOOM! FWOOM!**_

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Can you see anything?" Amy asked.

"No, Amy," Sonic answered.

"How about now?"

"No."

"Now?"

"No."

"Now?"

"No."

"Now?"

"No."

"Now?"

"No."

"Now?"

"NO!!" Sonic yelled.

Amy remained quiet for about seven seconds, then, "Now?"

Shadow stepped between Sonic and Amy, with the former about to strangle the latter. "Something's wrong; they should've been back by now."

Rouge looked perplexed. "Shadow? Are you really worried about them?"

Shadow attempted to regain his uncaring characterization. "What I meant was that I hope they stopped the professor and the doctor; Zenith isn't that responsible."

Rouge began to prod him. "But you care about me," she batted her eyelashes, "right?"

_**THOOM! FWOOM! **_

Shadow was saved by the ships' finally self-destructing. Chunks of metal began to come down on Station Square, sending the gathering crowd scattering, searching for cover.

Silver pointed upwards. "Look! Its Zenith and Iota! They're coming down fast!"

Everyone looked up in the direction Silver was pointing. Zenith and Iota were indeed coming down fast-very fast, in fact.

Blaze appeared to be worried. "Oh no. At that speed, there is no way that they will survive the landing."

Shadow spoke up again. "Why hasn't Zenith activated his shoes?"

"They probably got damaged in the crash," Sonic answered.

"Your probably right," Amy said. "But I have faith in Zenith. He'll make it through this." Then she added to herself, "Somehow."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Zenith was swearing at his damaged shoes. "Why...won't...these...damn...things...work!?" He exclaimed while trying to activate them between words.

"The blast probably created an electromagnetic frequency that shorted out the wiring in the shoes," Iota said matter-of-factly.

Zenith was about to say something sarcastic, but then decided not to. "Well, whatever happened, my shoes aren't working right now. Any ideas?"

__"Maybe I could create a platform with Erneigio," Iota suggested.

Zenith looked confused. "Can you do that?"

Iota shrugged. "We're going to make serious contact with the ground in about-".

"-21.47 seconds," Zenith finished. "So you'd better get to work."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"They aren't going to make it!" Rouge called out.

Shadow looked at Rouge, puzzled. "I didn't know you cared so much."

Blaze saved Rouge from an explanation by interrupting. "Wait-yes they are! They're flying on some kind of platform."

"Where'd they get a platform from?" Amy asked.

"Iota seems to have made it from her Erneigio," Silver deduced.

"She created solid matter from out of thin air?" Sonic asked. "That seems alot like Green-".

"They're still coming down fast!" Shadow interrupted. "Get out of the way!"

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Zenith was still silently swearing at his shoes. Iota raised an eyebrow. "You know how unnecessary that is, right?"

"Huh?" Zenith said, as if he were in a daze. A whirring noise was heard. "Ah, _now _these things finally decide to work!" He grabbed hold of Iota. He launched both of them off the makeshift platform.

Iota dissapated it once she was sure that they weren't going crash into the ground.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Iota!" Amy exclaimed, once she was safely on the ground with Zenith. "You made it!" She hugged him.

"So...Zenith...," Shadow said, rubbing the back of his neck uncomfortably. "Uh...nice work...?"

Zenith eyed Shadow in suspicion. "Shadow? Did you just...give me a complement?"

Shadow looked in all directions before finally walking away. "C'mon, Rouge. Let's go."

"Where are the Chaos Emeralds?" Zenith asked.

"Here!" Blaze said, tossing the silver briefcase to Zenith. "Glad to see the both of you are okay, too."

"So am I," Iota mumbled to herself. She turned to Zenith. "What are going to do with them?"

Zenith tossed the briefcase to Shadow who caught it deftly. "No one really knew how to fully control the powers of chaos before you came along. Take care of them."

"You're actually _giving _the emeralds to _him_!?" Sonic asked in disbelief. "Of course you are! You weren't here when he tried to use them to take out the entire planet!"

Rouge snatched the briefcase and eyed it greedily. "I don't see a problem with it."

Zenith crossed his arms. "And that's the other part of the reason why I'm letting Shadow hold the emeralds. Rouge won't let anything happen to them. She probably won't even give them back to me." To prove his point, Zenith reached out to take the briefcase. Rouge hissed at him like a venomous snake. Zenith recoiled. "See what I mean?"

Shadow shrugged. "Fine. I'm going home." He held his head. "I have a splitting headache and I'm missing Scrubs."

Everyone looked at Shadow with confused stares. "Uh...," Shadow mumbled. "Chaos Control!" He vanished in a green flash.

"And I have some business to attend to," Rouge said. She hugged the briefcase as if it were a baby as she flew away. "Oh, my beauties. I finally have you! This time, I'm _not _letting you go!"

"Do you _really _think it was a good idea giving her the Emeralds?" Silver asked.

"Well, I couldn't give them to you or Blaze, since _you're _from 200 years in the future, and _you're_-" He pointed at Blaze. "-from a completely different dimension and universe."

"Well you don't have to be all snippy about it," Blaze said.

"And like I said," Zenith continued. "Rouge won't let even Shadow touch those emeralds."

"Well, I guess that's true," Sonic agreed as he yawned and stretched. "I guess I'll be heading out now. See ya later!" He ran off at Sonic Speed.

Amy put her hands on her hips and called out in an angry, "Soooonic!"

A few seconds later, Sonic came back. "Sorry, old habits."

Amy climbed onto Sonic's back and waved. "Bye everyonnnnne!" Sonic sped off again.

Silver shook his head. "I fear for Sonic's health. Time to returen to the future! Let's go Blaze!"

Blaze held Silver's arm. "We'll see during the next universal crisis."

"Uhh...," Zenith said uncomfortably. "...okay?..." He turned to Iota. "Is she serious?"

Iota shrugged and grunted "I don't know."

When both Silver and Blaze had vanished into the future, Zenith and Iota stood in the middle of the street, all alone.

"Do you think Beta's finally gone?" Iota asked.

Zenith thought for a moment, then shook his head. "I doubt it. He fell into a pit of lava and survived, somehow. Now he just fell a few hundred miles. He survived, and we'll have to fight him all over again."


End file.
